He told The Times of India: "We never wanted [director] Abhinav Kashyap not to be a part of Dabangg 2. I was in Bangkok for a shoot and I called Abhinav Kashyap to say that ideally, I would like the same team that did Dabangg to work on the sequel as well.

"Only after he refused did we request Arbaaz to take over. Arbaaz was the creative producer of Dabangg and he was the natural choice for the sequel.

"Arbaaz and I am just a year-and-a-half apart. We have had our creative differences, but I've never bullied him. On the set, there were times when he wanted it his way and he got it. And there were times when I got my way. But, whatever we did was for the betterment of the film."